Aryna Sabalenka won her biggest career title in WTA 1000 Madrid Open after beating top-seeded Ashleigh Barty by 2-1 (6:0; 3:6; 6:4) in the final.
Aryna Sabalenka dominated the early rallies and blitzed through the first set, 6:0, in 25 minutes.
However, the second set started with a break for Ashleigh Barty, who took a lead of 2:0. Sabalenka succeeded to return to the set and returned the break shortly after, making the result 2:2 but immediately suffered a break at her own serve. Thus, Ashleigh Barty won the set by 3:6.
During the third set, Aryna Sabalenka took a few extra seconds, made sure she made a strong first serve and won the point. Both players won their serving games and the set was running draw. At 4:4, Aryna Sabalenka succeeded to break the service of Ashleigh Barty and took a late lead of 5:4. This time, she did not lose the chance and won the final game on zero, winning the match and getting her biggest career title in WTA 1000 Madrid Open.
“I think what I did really well here, I stay focused from the beginning till the end”, said Aryna Sabalenka. “I was putting her under the pressure, especially at the end of the third set. In those key moments, I was a little bit more aggressive. That’s what really helped me to win this match”, added she.
Aryna Sabalenka is a Belarusian professional tennis player. She has been a top ten player in both singles and doubles, having been ranked as high as No 4 in singles and No 1 in doubles by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA).
